Snow crab comeback!

After a two-year closure, the Bering Sea snow crab fishery will reopen at noon Oct. 15 with a modest quota of 4.72 million pounds, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Friday.

The department also announced a quota of 2.31 million pounds for the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery, which likewise will open Oct. 15. That's a slight increase from last season's 2.15 million pounds.

And the Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab season will open Oct. 15 with a quota of 1.77 million pounds, down from last season's 2.08 million pounds.

Third snow crab season to receive disaster aid

Federal officials have allocated another large sum of money as disaster relief for the troubled Bering Sea snow crab fishery.

This latest sum of $39.5 million covers the 2023-24 season.

Previously, officials allocated much larger amounts for Alaska crab fisheries, including:

• $96.6 million for the 2022-23 Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fishery disasters

• $94.5 million for the 2021-22 Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fishery disasters.

The snow crab fishery has been closed the past two seasons due to weak stocks, and we're expecting word soon on whether the closure will extend to a third season.

Feds declare Bering Sea snow crab disaster

Details in this news release.

Red king crab yes, snow crab no

After a two-year hiatus, the Bristol Bay red king crab crab fishery will reopen Oct. 15 with a modest quota of 2.15 million pounds.

The Bering Sea snow crab fishery will remain closed for the second consecutive season. This year's bottom trawl survey showed snow crab mature female and commercial-size male abundance is at an all-time low, scientists say.

The Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab fishery will open Oct. 15 with a quota of 2.08 million pounds.

St. Paul to seek federal disaster relief

St. Paul interests explain why the Bering Sea snow crab closure is so devastating to the Bering Sea island community.

A crab catastrophe

The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery will be closed for a second consecutive season, and the Bering Sea snow crab fishery will be closed as well, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game just announced.

The continuing crab crash

The situation with Alaska crab remains dismal, according to preliminary survey results the National Marine Fisheries Service posted today.

Male and female populations of Bristol Bay red king crab "remain low across all size classes," the agency says.

And survey estimates for mature male and female Bering Sea snow crab are even lower than in 2021.

The results suggest the red king crab fishery will remain closed this season, and the snow crab fishery, which opened with a small quota last season, might be shuttered as well.

The outlook isn't entirely bleak.

"The positive news is that we saw a significant increase in immature snow crab abundance, both males and females. Depending on how many of these young crabs actually survive to adulthood, this could be one bright spot for the fishing industry in a few years," said Mike Litzow, survey lead and director of the agency's Kodiak Laboratory.

Snow crab fishery to open with modest quota

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game today announced a Bering Sea snow crab quota of 5.6 million pounds and a bairdi quota of 1.1 million pounds.

Shell-shocked crabbers urge 'bold actions'

Facing a rare and devastating season closure of the lucrative Bristol Bay red king crab fishery, a crabbing organization says the outlook for snow crab isn't good, either.

More in this press release from Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers.

King crab down, snow crab up

Fishery managers have announced a total allowable catch of 2.6 million pounds for the Bristol Bay red king crab season opening Oct. 15. That's a very poor quota, down 30 percent from last season.

Managers also have announced a TAC of 45 million pounds for the Bering Sea snow crab fishery, a 32 percent increase.

The Bering Sea Tanner crab TAC is 2.3 million pounds. The Tanner crab fishery was closed last season.

Slim pickings for king crab

Fishery managers today announced a total allowable catch of 3.8 million pounds for the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery, which opens at noon Oct. 15. That's a 12 percent cut from last season.

Managers also announced a TAC of 34 million pounds for the Bering Sea snow crab fishery, a 23 percent increase.

The Bering Sea Tanner crab fishery will remain closed, as the estimated mature male biomass is too low, managers said. Last season's Tanner crab TAC was 2.4 million pounds.

Snow crab cut 12 percent

This season's Bering Sea snow crab quota is 18.96 million pounds, down 12 percent from last season.

The fishery opens at noon Oct. 15, but the industry typically waits until after the first of the year to take snow crab.

Fishery managers also have set a modest quota of 2.5 million pounds for Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab. The bairdi fishery was closed last season.

Severe cut for Bering Sea snow crab

The Bering Sea snow crab quota for the season opening Oct. 15 is just under 21.6 million pounds.

That's down 47 percent from last season's limit of 40.6 million pounds.

Negative outlook for crab fisheries

Results from this year's Eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey suggest we could see substantial quota reductions in Alaska's two most valuable crab fisheries.

Bristol Bay red king crab
The biomass estimate for legal-sized male crab is 22,424 tons, down 17.6 percent from last year's estimate of 27,209 tons. (See Table 6 on Page 31 of the survey report.)

Bering Sea snow crab
The biomass estimate for legal males is 51,670 tons, down 27.8 percent from last year's 71,550 tons. (Table 19, Page 44)

Fishery managers will announce catch limits in the coming weeks. The crab fisheries open Oct. 15.

Snow crab quota takes 40 percent hit

Fishery managers just posted the Bering Sea snow crab quota for the upcoming season, and the news isn't good.

At 40.6 million pounds, the quota is down 40 percent from last season.

The fishery opens at noon Oct. 15, but the industry usually waits until after the new year to harvest snow crab, also known as opilio crab.

Are Alaska crab quotas headed for a fall?

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Crab Plan Team will meet all next week in Seattle, and a key document on the table will be this technical memorandum with the results of this year's Eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey.

Deckboss certainly didn't have time to read the full 172-page report, but he did manage to find these intriguing snippets regarding the two most important commercial species:

Bristol Bay red king crab
In 2015, an overall decrease in male red king crabs was observed compared to last year. (page 16)

Bering Sea snow crab
Mature male and female and pre-recruit-male abundance and biomass is substantially down from 2014, and below the previous 10-year average. However, an increase in juvenile abundance over the past 3 years provides hope for strong recruitment in upcoming years. (page 25)

A couple of tables within the report are certainly worth a look: Table 6 for red king crab (page 37) and Table 19 for snow crab (page 50). Each table indicates a big drop in "legal male" biomass in 2015 compared to 2014.

It won't be too long before fishery managers announce catch quotas for the upcoming crab fisheries, which open Oct. 15.

Snow crab quota jumps 26 percent

The Bering Sea snow crab quota is 67.95 million pounds, a nearly 26 percent increase from last season.

Here's the official announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The snow crab season opens at noon Oct. 15, but typically the industry waits until the new year to harvest the bulk of the crab.

Bering Sea snow crab TAC dips 19 percent

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game today announced a Bering Sea snow crab total allowable catch (TAC) of just under 54 million pounds for the 2013-14 season.

That's down nearly 19 percent from last season's TAC.

Although the fishery is scheduled to open on Oct. 15, the industry traditionally waits until after the first of the year to take snow crab.

Bering Sea snow crab quota cut 25 percent

This season's Bering Sea snow crab quota is 66.35 million pounds, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today.

That's a 25 percent reduction from last season's quota of 88.89 million pounds.

The season opens at noon Oct. 15. More details here.

A mixed outlook for Alaska crab

Fewer snow crab this season? ASMI photo

The quota for Bristol Bay red king crab might go up a bit, but the Bering Sea snow crab quota could see a substantial cut.

That's the outlook in a nutshell for Alaska's two most valuable commercial crab fisheries, based on this technical memorandum detailing results of this summer's eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey.

Typically, the quotas for these fisheries are announced at the end of September or in early October, once federal and state scientists have analyzed all the available data and settle on the numbers.

With respect to Bristol Bay red king crab, Deckboss would direct your attention to Table 6 on page 32 of the PDF, under the "Legal male" column. It shows a biomass estimate of 19,713 metric tons of legal-sized male crabs, the big boys that crab fishermen can retain and sell. That's an increase from the prior year's estimate of 15,412 tons.

As for Bering Sea snow crab, also known as opilio, take a look at Table 19 on page 45. It shows a legal male biomass estimate of 104,456 tons, down nearly 29 percent from the 2011 estimate of 146,275 tons.

This suggests we could see a retrenchment from the recent upward trend in harvest quotas for snow crab.

Deckboss cautions that many factors go into calculating harvest quotas. But estimated legal male biomass is one good indicator of where we might be headed for the upcoming season.

The technical memo includes data on other fisheries including Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab, a brawny version of the snow crab. The numbers suggest the fishery is likely to remain closed, as it has been for the past two seasons.